This invention relates generally to computer systems and more particularly to regulatory control of information transmission over networks of computers.
Computer networks, such as the Internet, the World Wide Web, and most recently, Intranets, have opened up access to data as no other technological development has. Users are able to quickly and easily collect data (textual, image, and auditory).
While the collection of data has been vastly improved, any security for data has been severely hampered. Control of data dissemination has generally required the use of a dual password system. In this technique, the user is required to enter two passwords (often called the user ID and the password) which are then compared to a memory file to see if access is appropriate.
While the two password system is generally acceptable, often the password set is purloined by another user who then has complete access to the data from the safety of another site. Protection of the data then reverts to assuring that the password set itself is kept secure. This task though is almost impossible to achieve.
It is clear that there is a need for improvements in password systems.